


Sparkling Water

by notyoursherlock



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Gay Character, Gay Tony Stark, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Peter Parker, Mentioned Peter Parker, Mentioned Steve Rogers, Non Binary Bucky Barnes, Nonbinary Character, Oneshot, Other, bucky calls her ms.friday, bucky uses they/them pronouns, cus hes a polite Brooklyn boy, enby!bucky, friday - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 15:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18853543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notyoursherlock/pseuds/notyoursherlock
Summary: Bucky is non-binary, and they chose to come out to Tony.It goes better than expected.





	Sparkling Water

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!
> 
> I hope you like this fic!

Taking a deep breath, Bucky wrung their hands, nervous beyond belief. They were headed down to the lab to talk to Tony, whom they had become rather good friend with over the past few months. Why, do you ask?

 

Well, they were about to come out to him.

 

Not one living soul knew of their preferred pronouns. The ones who did either had Alzheimers and forgot, or died, either by their hand or another’s.

 

“Sergeant Barnes?”

 

Friday’s accented voice startled them out of their thoughts. They looked up at the ceiling, despite Tony’s repeated telling them that that wasn’t where she came from, but by now it had become habit.

 

“The elevator stopped at the lab five minutes ago. Are you alright?”

 

Bucky smiled softly, grateful for the kind AI. Friday was the only one who knew of their pronouns, and while not a single living soul knew, she _technically_ didn’t have a soul, so she didn’t count. Technically.

 

“No, that’s alright Ms. Friday, thank you.” With a soothing electronic hum, Friday opened the elevator doors with a soft whoosh, Bucky stepping out. What? Friday did more than most people in the building combined. She deserved at least some respect.

 

Hand tapping a quick staccato against their thigh, Bucky slowly got closer to the lab. What if Tony didn’t accept them? What if he outed them? What if he threw them out? Before they knew it, the lab door was right in front of them. Peering through the glass showed a concentrated Tony Stark leaned over a worktable, concentrated on a small piece of technology. Deciding to just dive in and get it over with, they knocked gently on the glass.

 

Head turning to the glass, Tony grinned and motioned for Friday to open the doors. “Buckaroo! What brings you to these parts?” Bucky smiled softly, relaxing at Tony’s familiar antics.

 

“Just… wandering. I guess.” Tony hummed, either oblivious to their nervousness or choosing not to address it, and continued working on what they could now see was part of the newest Mark.

 

“Rogers not trying to make you get along with the witch? Ugh, I can practically hear her voice. ‘But Steve! All he does is sit and-‘“ Before they could stop it, Bucky blurted out,

 

“Not a he.”

 

Tony stilled, gently setting his tools down. “What was that?”

 

Anxiety churning through their gut, Bucky was suddenly just as nervous as they had been before coming into the lab. “I-“ They took a deep breath, steadying themself. “I’m not a he.”

 

He nodded slightly, turning his gaze to Bucky, suddenly serious. “So… your pronouns? She/her? They/them?” Surprised at how well Tony seemed to be taking it so far, Bucky answered him, voice strong.

 

“They/them.” Tony nodded.

 

“Does it change depending on the day, or no?”

 

“The same.”

 

Tony looked at him for a minute before smiling widely. “Thank you for telling me. I know how hard that can be.”

 

Bucky was suspicious. “You’re taking this oddly well. And what do you mean, you know how hard it can be?”

 

“You should meet my son.”

 

“You have a son?” That was surprising. And an abrupt change of subject.

 

“Yup.” He confirmed, before taking on a pondering look. “At least today he is, I think. He didn’t alert me of any change, so I think we can safely assume he’s my son for today. Also, to answer your question, I’m gay.”

 

Blinking at the onslaught of new information, Bucky held up their flesh hand slightly. “Wait, ‘change’? ‘For today’? You’re gay?”

 

He nodded. “Yes, I am gay. Not sure exactly how you didn’t know, being an assassin, but it could be all the false articles about me banging every living and breathing female in sight. And to clarify, my son is gender-fluid. Before you ask he gave me permission to tell anyone I trust. He came out to me by baking me a cake. A _cake.”_

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Peter Stark, but he’s known to most as Peter Parker. Too dangerous for the public to know of who his dad is.” Tony finally stood, clapping his hands together. “So, does anybody else know?”

 

He may not have voiced it, but the meaning of his question clear. “Just you and Ms. Friday.”

 

“Any plans to tell anyone soon? Or at all?”

 

“No, not yet. I’m not ready.” Bucky suddenly looked sad. “Steve wouldn’t accept me. He’s always been very… _vocal,_ about this kind of stuff.” They looked at Tony, eyes hard. “You won’t tell anyone?”

 

Hands going up, Tony immediately protested. “No! Not without your explicit permission, of course. That’s just rude.”

 

They relaxed. “Thank you, Tony.”

 

He smiled. “Anytime, Bucky.” They were both silent. “Can I still call you Bucky, or do you want me to call you something else like James or-“

 

“Keep calling me Bucky, please. I don’t like the name James,” They confessed, continuing without any prompting. “Back before… everything, I never felt comfortable in my own skin, as ifbeing male wasn’t right. Of course, it was taboo and bad then to be anything else than how you were born, so I hid it. When I met Steve, the first time I told him my full name he grimaced and told me that Buchanan was too long, so he gave me the name Bucky and it stuck since. It felt right. Bucky didn’t have a specified gender, like James which is a standard male’s name. I was able to hide who I was a lot better after that.” They chuckled, recalling a fond memory. “Peggy, that stubborn woman, figured it out five minutes after meeting me. She cornered me in an empty infirmary and made me tell the truth. That I didn’t feel like a man, but I didn’t feel like a woman either. Sort of in between, but not at the same time. I thought for sure she was going to kick me out of there and tell everyone in yelling range, but instead she tackled me in a hug and make sure I felt more comfortable. And fuck if that wasn’t a shock.” They looked at Tony and suddenly was sheepish. “Sorry, that was a lot.”

 

He shook his head. “You’re good. Probably feels better now that you’ve gotten that out.”

 

They nodded. “Yeah, it does. A lot better, actually.”

 

Tony smiled. They were silent once more. “Is there anything I could get you to make you feel more comfortable? Clothes? Peter has some makeup, and if you want he could give you a few pointers.”

 

“Uhm, yeah. Tank tops? Yoga pants, or whatever you call them would be nice. Makeup sounds… I’d like that.” Bucky looked down at their feet, blushing. They weren’t used to this much attention, much less anything positive. It was all a bit overwhelming, if they were being honest.

 

“Perfect! Friday?”  
  
“Already on it, boss!”

 

“Get a variety, will you? Tastee Freez here needs something else than black or gray to wear.”

 

They gave a squawk of denial. “I do not wear only black and gray!” Tony raised his brow and they thought about their wardrobe. “Okay, I do but it’s tactical!”

 

“Tactical, not fashionable.”

 

They tried to keep a straight face, but Tony’s wiggling eyebrows made them break and grin widely. “You just want to see me in tight clothes, don’t you?”

 

“Whatever would insinuate that?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome.


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